Malcolm urges Scotland to use 64-26 Canada defeat as benchmark for WXV growth

Scotland suffered a 64-26 defeat to Canada in their WXV Global Series opener at the Hive Stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday, with captain Rachel Malcolm insisting the result must serve as a reference point rather than a setback as the team adapts to an entirely new coaching staff.

Tries from Evie Gallagher, Shona Campbell, Lana Skeldon and Rhona Lloyd gave Dave Butcher’s side moments to build on, but Canada — Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 finalists and one of the most potent attacking sides in the world — dominated the physicality battle at both ends of the pitch.

“We’re feeling disappointment to some extent,” Malcolm said after the final whistle. “They probably won the physicality battle both sides of the ball and we knew coming into this, Canada are World Cup finalists and arguably have one of the best attacks in the world, so we always knew it was going to be tough.”

The Scotland flanker acknowledged her side grew into the contest in the second half and found encouragement in the manner of their tries. “We can take positives from how we made something out of nothing today. The tries that we scored weren’t the most clinical or the prettiest, but we found a way to get over the try line,” she said. “We want to see more phase play and control in those middle thirds in particular, but that will come.”

Malcolm also highlighted the contributions of younger players introduced from the bench. “Players like Katie Buchanan and Ceitidh Ainsworth have got massive futures for us and did brilliantly off the bench. To get them blooded and get them experienced is really important.”

Looking ahead to the remainder of the series, Malcolm outlined a clear two-phase approach. “These three first games — Canada, New Zealand and Australia — are very much about development,” she explained. “The second two games are all about performance and results, so that gives us that nice break in the middle of it.”

Scotland’s next assignment is a daunting one: they face New Zealand’s Black Ferns on Saturday 19 September at the Hive Stadium. The Black Ferns opened their WXV campaign with a 28-14 victory over France, underlining the scale of the challenge that awaits Butcher’s developing squad.